Daley in hurry to appoint interim schools chief

Mayor Richard Daley said Thursday that he will appoint an interim replacement for Chicago Public Schools CEO Ron Huberman "very quickly" and that his appointee will have a business background.

"The CEO is always more of a business person," Daley said. "Then you have a CEO for operations and a CEO for education. We put that together."

Huberman announced Wednesday that he intends to leave his post Nov. 29. Daley said the district can't wait for leadership until there's a new mayor to appoint one.

"You really have to have someone to be able to (serve as CEO)," Daley said at a City Hall news conference to announce greater cooperation with law enforcement agencies to combat interstate gun trafficking.

"The next mayor will take into consideration the person we appoint, I appoint ... And then in turn, the next mayor will look at that. There's nothing wrong with that."

Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis and leaders of several community groups said the CEO should have an education background. The groups held a news conference calling on the mayor to conduct a nationwide search to replace Huberman.

Lewis acknowledged, however, that a thorough search would take months. She said her comments were directed, at least in part, toward Daley's successor, who will appoint a permanent CEO.

"Obviously (Daley's) going to appoint an interim, that's his due, he's the mayor," Lewis said. "But we will have a new mayor, and we'll still be here. So what we're hoping is that we can ... start making really good decisions in the right direction."

Daley said he is considering several candidates to replace Huberman.

At a public appearance earlier in the day, Daley said he wasn't disappointed upon hearing that Huberman was leaving the post. "When people want to leave, they want to leave," he said. "You can't hold people back. That's unacceptable."

Daley was asked if Huberman had confided to Daley his reasons for leaving. He said Huberman "just wanted to go into the private sector ... with his family as well."